In a gas turbine engine, intake air is compressed by a compressor. Fuel is added to the compressed air and ignited in a combustor. The expanding hot air passes through a turbine and out of a nozzle providing thrust. The turbine converts some of the energy of the expanding hot air into rotational energy for powering the compressor.
Various components of a gas turbine engine may be damaged and/or degraded when the intake air contains particles such as sand and dust. For example, sand may cause abrasion to compressor blades. As another example, dust may clog cooling holes and/or reduce cooling performance in the turbine resulting in higher turbine temperatures. The damage to the engine components reduces the efficiency and lifespan of the engine.
Debris removal systems for gas turbine engines generally attempt to remove all types of debris from the intake air using a single separator. While a single separator may reduce the total amount of debris entering the components of the gas turbine engine, a single separator may not efficiently remove different types of debris. For example, if the single separator is optimized for removing large particles, small particles may pass through the compressor to the combustor and turbine. On the other hand, if the single separator is optimized for removing smaller particles, large particles may pass through the compressor, damaging the compressor. Further, the compressor may pulverize larger particles into smaller particles that may also damage the turbine.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that there are problems, shortcomings or disadvantages associated with debris separation in gas turbine engines, and that it would be desirable if improved systems and methods for separating debris from an airflow in a gas turbine engine were devised.